One day in March of 1975, 12-year-old Sheila Lyon and 10-year-old Katharine Lyon walked to the suburban Maryland Wheaton Plaza Mall. They never came back, and their bodies were never found. »7/15/15 3:45pm 7/15/15 3:45pm

A current lawsuit against the governor of Colorado alleges that juveniles convicted of sex crimes should not be forced to register as sex offenders for their entire lives. The plaintiffs argue that registering offenders (children and certain adults) for life is "cruel and unusual," and, more broadly, that the sex… »9/10/13 12:40pm 9/10/13 12:40pm

A network of Arizona-based websites is using data from sex-offender registries maintained by law-enforcement agencies to basically extort money from purported sex-offenders, some of whom are either no longer required to register themselves or have never actually been convicted of a sex-related crime. »5/28/13 4:40pm 5/28/13 4:40pm

For registered sex offenders in Southern California, Halloween is pretty much the worst holiday on the calendar, since it serves as a potent reminder to their neighbors that they can never, ever, under any circumstances participate in the ritual candy canvassing that makes Halloween simultaneously so magical and so… »10/02/12 11:55pm 10/02/12 11:55pm

A new Louisiana law — the first of its kind in the country — orders convicted sex offenders and child predators to publicly spell out their criminal status on social networking sites. »6/21/12 3:40pm 6/21/12 3:40pm

Christopher Kilkus is an experienced fashion photographer who has shot for brands and publications like Bebe, BCBG, Forever21, Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan. He's also photographed minors for some of these jobs, which is a problem: Kilkus is a convicted and publicly registered sex offender. »5/31/12 1:50pm 5/31/12 1:50pm

Congratulations, women and children of Detroit, you have a new sex offender to look out for. A white male in his 50s has been witnessed frequenting several establishments, mainly clothing stores and salons (where he reportedly requests Brazilians), wearing only pantyhose to cover his lower half. I know, how terribly… »3/23/12 2:00pm 3/23/12 2:00pm

A surprisingly high percentage of child sexual abuse is actually perpetrated by other children. But the systems in place for prosecuting adult pedophiles may not be appropriate for child offenders. »1/09/12 10:20am 1/09/12 10:20am

A group of British Columbia teenagers lured pedophiles to public locations, then appeared dressed as superheroes like Batman and the Flash and publicly shamed them. They also posted their encounters on YouTube. However, Canadian police have warned them that their unconventional crime-fighting tactics might put other… »11/16/11 6:00pm 11/16/11 6:00pm

Good news, New Yorkers! You can now use facebook to stalk not only your college boyfriend's new girlfriend who sort of creepily looks like you, but also high risk sex offenders who sort of creepily live by you. Well, the ones compliant enough to register, at least. »10/18/11 6:45pm 10/18/11 6:45pm

There's evidence that sex offender registries are crowded with too many people who pose little threat to the community, like those convicted of fornicating with with other teens or sexting photos of themselves. Even if the system isn't perfect, we assume that it's still a valuable tool to protect us against dangerous… »8/31/11 6:08pm 8/31/11 6:08pm

Residents of the Land of Lincoln are undoubtedly aware of the unrelenting clusterfuck that is state and local governments. Usually the tangled web of patronage and ball-dropping results in rueful head shaking, or a shrug along with the line, "Well! That's Illinois!" But now, it seems that the headless vowel elongating… »8/27/11 3:00pm 8/27/11 3:00pm

In response to a lawsuit by a woman who was sexually assaulted by her Match.com date, the dating site has agreed to screen its users against the sex offender registry. Other sites are following suit — is this about to become the industry standard? »8/24/11 1:00pm 8/24/11 1:00pm

California dad Domingos Jose Oliveira was sentenced to seven years in prison for hanging "dead or alive" wanted posters for his 20-year-old daughter's boyfriend and offering a $3,000 reward for his death. Oliveira's issues with 33-year-old Sean Kirk go beyond thinking he's a dirt bag. Kirk had to register as a sex… »8/03/11 11:30pm 8/03/11 11:30pm

Robert McGuire, a sex offender who was banned from using the internet was arrested yesterday when he went on Facebook at a San Luis Obispo Apple store — right next to a sheriff's detective. The detective had apparently followed him into the store, but it's unclear if he knew McGuire was about to violate his parole in… »5/26/11 4:20pm 5/26/11 4:20pm

"You probably would not be too surprised to learn that the vast majority of people in the Texas Department of Public Safety's sex offender list are male. And most are not good-looking. But there are females on there, too." [Via] »5/12/11 12:50pm 5/12/11 12:50pm

It's been a big week for the regulation of online dating. First, Match.com pledged to check new members against the sex offender registry — and now several states are considering laws aimed at making online dating safer. Will they work? »4/21/11 9:42am 4/21/11 9:42am